


Change

by Annaelle



Category: Eyewitness (US TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, High School Reunion AU, I think Rose is awesome, I've no idea where this came from, Like a highschool reunion type of thing, M/M, SO, but she was a kid too, i am not against letting her make mistakes, lukas and philip will show up in the second chapter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-19
Updated: 2017-02-15
Packaged: 2018-09-09 21:11:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8912116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annaelle/pseuds/Annaelle
Summary: So... Might be one more chapter. Reunion, plus maybe some more digging into the dynamics between Philkas and their parents :D Thanks to those who read and left kudos/comments! You guys are awesome <3Love, Annaelle





	1. Chapter 1

**_“We can't be afraid of change. You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea. Holding onto something that is good for you now, may be the very reason why you don't have something better.”_ ** ****

**_―_ ** **_C. JoyBell C._ **

**June 2026—Tivoli, New York**

Rose heaved a sigh as she straightened, pressing one hand to her lower back and the other to her swollen belly. She had, of course, _offered_ to do most of the organization and a large part of the work to set up for the ten year reunion of their graduation class by herself, but at six-and-a-half months pregnant, the strain of bending down and then tiptoeing to put up banners and decorations was beginning to take its toll.

The gym did look rather nice, if she said so herself, and she was rather proud of what she’d been able to accomplish by herself in such short time. The otherwise stark and bleak walls were covered with a large banner that read _‘Welcome back, 2016 Red Hook Graduates!_ ’ in bright, neon colors, and silver and golden streamers hung from the ceiling in an admittedly poor imitation of their prom decorations.

She glanced down at her clipboard and beamed in satisfaction at the checklist.

Some of the others would be by tomorrow to set up tables and seats and drinks and snacks would be delivered the day of the reunion—the only things she still needed to do in advance was double check the RSVP’s and make sure no one had cancelled last minute.

Luckily, that was something she could do at home, comfortably curled up on the sofa with her laptop and her husband, before said husband made dinner for her.

She slipped the clipboard into her bag and switched off the lights in the gym as she headed towards the exit, idly rubbing at her belly as she allowed her thoughts to drift towards her former classmates. She had not seen most of them in quite some time,  except for those that had remained in or returned to Tivoli too, but she had stayed in touch with David and Claire—two of her best friends—throughout college. They’d even attended each other’s weddings, despite living halfway across the country from one another.

She had to admit she had little idea about how the rest of their class had been over the past decade though—she hadn’t even friended most of them on Facebook.

As she stepped outside, the sky gave a quiet grumble and began drizzling rain and she groaned, her lower lip pushing out into a pout as she eyed her SUV, parked all the way across the parking lot. _Of course_ it would rain on the one day she left her little umbrella in the car.

She leaned back against the door for another long moment before accepting her fate and stepping out into the rain, rushing across the slippery concrete towards her car. She shivered when she slipped into the driver’s seat, wrinkling her nose at the uncomfortably chafe of wet jeans on her skin, and turned the heat up, cursing whatever deity out there that gave New York and Tivoli with such terrible weather.

The drive back to the house she and her husband had purchased shortly after moving back to Tivoli to start a family was, thankfully, short. She sighed gratefully when she realised she could park the car _inside_ the garage, so she wouldn't have to go back out into the rain.

Her husband’s car was already parked across the street, and she smiled a soft smile.

She and Erik had met in college, and though they’d only dated off and on during their four years at _UCLA_ , she’d been crazy about him from the moment they’d met. After he had graduated law school and she graduated with her degree in International Business, they’d had a serious conversation about their relationship and their future, and decided they should give a real relationship a shot.

They’d been together ever since.

He was smart—a successful lawyer with a large corporate firm in New York—and kind, and he was everything she had ever wanted in a man, and she had known that even when they first met, even though she hadn’t quite been over Lukas back then.

She winced a little as her thoughts strayed back to her high school boyfriend and the positively disastrous end of their relationship—if what they’d had could even be constituted as that.

Time had granted her the opportunity to think it over, and she knew now that, while Lukas had been blunt and a little inconsiderate of her feelings in the entire thing, he _had_ tried to do what was right for both of them when he realized he wasn’t in love with her and that their ideas of the future looked radically different.

She supposed, in a way, that Lukas always had been a little more mature than her at that age, especially after witnessing the murders in his father’s cabin. She’d realized he was distant and closed off to her long before he broke up with her, but she’d not known the extent of it until the truth came out.

She’d been desperate to keep him though, convinced that they were meant to be together—like the couples in many of the movies and TV shows she had seen, that fought for each other and never let the other give up on the relationship.

She’d tried to be like those characters, tried to be whatever Lukas needed her to be in that moment.

She’d even gotten him prescription sleeping pills without asking much of an explanation from him.

She’d been so _stupid_.

She wrinkled her nose at her own obliviousness back then and hurries inside, eager to change from her maternity jeans into her husband’s soft jogging pants and one of her cosy sweaters. As she headed up the stairs, shouting out a greeting to Erik, who is undoubtedly holed up in his office to pour over case files for whatever he was currently working on, her thoughts drifted back to Lukas, and she wondered distantly if he’d be attending the reunion.

It was not that she _wanted_ him there, per say, or that she absolutely _had_ to reunite with him, but she _was_ curious to hear how he was doing.

After the whole fiasco with the murders and Lukas nearly getting killed when he tried to identify the killer—and the mess _she_ caused when she tried to demand Lukas’ attention and time again once everything was over, trying to convince him to get back together because she couldn’t _stand_ losing him and _did he not realize how scared she had been for him_ —Lukas had only remained in town long enough to heal from the gunshot wound to his chest  before taking off to destinations unknown.

As far as she knew, no one in Tivoli was aware of what happened to Lukas after that.

She’d realized rather quickly that she’d been majorly out of line when Lukas had been admitted to the hospital—going as far as to call Philip, who had been with Lukas for some reason when he’d been shot, and had apparently saved Lukas’ life by pulling him from the water and keeping pressure on the wound until the paramedics got there, names and threaten to call CPS on him—but by then, it had been too late, and Lukas had asked the FBI agent who guarded his door to not let her in anymore.

She’d not even known he’d left town until rumours of it spread through school.

A sigh fell from her lips as she changed into the comfortable loungewear and tugged her hand through her curls. If anything, she only hoped he’d be there so she could apologize for her behaviour. No matter what had passed between them or how he’d hurt her, he’d not deserved to deal with her being uncharacteristically dramatic and demanding when he was quite literally trying to not get killed.

“Only one way to find out, Rose,” she said, pushing up off the bed and heading back down the stairs.

Her laptop stood on the end table, where she had left it earlier that morning, and she could hear Erik puttering around in his office. The sound was oddly comforting, and she allowed a soft grin to curl her lips upward as she settled comfortably on the sofa, pulling her laptop into her lap as it logged on, opening up into the Excel spreadsheet she used to keep track of the people attending the reunion.

The list wasn’t very extensive—of the ninety-three people that had actually graduated in their year, only fifty-seven of them RSVP’d ‘yes’ and only little over half of them was bringing a partner.

Lukas, however, seemed to be one of them people that hadn’t RSVP’d at all.

Most of his and Rose’s old friends were coming back, including Mickey, Dave and Louis, and Rose had hoped any of them were still in touch with Lukas—but it seemed not.

Philip Shea _had_ , interestingly, RSVP’d ‘yes’ and let her know he’d be bringing his husband with him. She had been surprised—not that he was gay, but that he’d be willing to come back to Tivoli at all—but had remained perfectly pleasant on the phone and already offered him a sincere apology for what she’d said in the hospital when Lukas was in surgery.

She didn’t know much about Philip—only that he’d left town soon after Lukas did, to go live with his mother again—and no one in their year seemed to either. She’d heard that he still regularly visited Gabe and Sheriff Torrance, and that they remained his legal guardians until he turned eighteen and went to college even though he’d gone back to his mother.

He’d accepted her apology when she offered it on the phone, but the conversation had dwindled soon after and Philip had hung up rather abruptly after she heard a door slam on his end and someone calling out his name.

Regardless of her lack of knowledge of him and their less than ideal acquaintanceship in the past, she was sure it would be nice to see him again.

She sighed and closed the laptop, settling back into the couch with a soft groan.

She was sure the whole thing would go smoothly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... Might be one more chapter. Reunion, plus maybe some more digging into the dynamics between Philkas and their parents :D 
> 
> Thanks to those who read and left kudos/comments! You guys are awesome <3
> 
> Love, Annaelle

**Three Days Later—New York City, New York**

Philip rocked his son back and forth gently, humming a soft melody beneath his breath. The baby was teething, and had been crying non-stop for almost the entire day, and Philip was at the end of his rope. He'd no idea what else he could do to soothe his little boy, and he once again cursed the fact that his husband of nearly ten years had to travel for several days at a time for work, leaving Philip to take care of a sleep-deprived, grumpy toddler and a teething baby by himself.

Philip loved their children, of course, and he wouldn’t want their life any other way, but he couldn’t deny he missed the extra set of hands and the soft kisses and warm hugs his husband was especially fond of giving him.

He silently thanked God that Emma was still asleep and that he wouldn’t have to wake her up any time soon. He shifted the baby’s weight onto his other arm as he pulled his phone from his pocket to check for any texts he may have missed. While he knew they had plenty of time before they needed to get the kids ready and leave to drive to Tivoli for the reunion, Philip had always been a bit of a stickler for being punctual, and he knew his husband had a reputation for being anything _but_ punctual.

He was due to return from his four day trip to Chicago well over two hours ago, but Philip had yet to hear a peep out of him, and it’s stressing him out a little.

He was about to call him when he heard the door open quietly and the rustle of bags being set down and a coat being shed, and he sighed in relief. “That took you long enough,” he told him reproachfully as he turned to face his sheepish-looking husband. “We’re supposed to leave in a few hours.”

Lukas shot him a breath-taking—but sheepish—grin and moved forward to press a soft kiss to Philips lips before he pressed his lips to the top of their son’s head.

“I know, I know,” Lukas groaned, making grabby hands at Philip until the shorter man slipped the baby into Lukas’ waiting arms. “The weather was terrible and my flight was delayed and then my phone died, so I couldn’t text you—” The blond shook his head and smiled tiredly. “I made it though.”

Philip couldn’t help the tender smile that spread across his lips as he watched his husband rock their son to sleep with a blissful grin on his face.

There had been times where Philip had thought he’d never have this—especially not with Lukas—and he still couldn’t believe that he _did_ sometimes. Thoughts like those usually snuck up on him when he looked at how good Lukas was with their kids, or when he caught sight of Lukas’ wedding ring, or simply when Lukas looked at him and told him he loved him.

They’d only been back together for three years now, and Philip still felt the sting of the years they’d spent apart, despite their efforts at remaining _friend_ s, and he knew it was something Lukas preferred not to think about too, despite knowing the separation was what they needed.

They’d both needed time and space to discover themselves, without the other, and while Philip wished it wouldn’t have required a break-up, he understood that they’d made the right decision, even if it had hurt like hell to be away from Lukas for the better part of their college career.

Unlike Philip, who had eventually chosen to follow his passion and pursued a career and study in photography, Lukas had given up on a professional motor cross career and floundered, taking several subjects until he’d found he had a knack for learning new languages.

They hadn’t actually broken up until Lukas had been offered a spot in a Norwegian program that would let him finish his interpreter studies in Oslo—they’d considered trying long-distance, of course, but at that point, they’d both already realized that their relationship would only suffer if they did.

Breaking up with Lukas had been one of the hardest things Philip had ever done, but he didn’t regret it. He didn’t realize until much later that neither of them were truly considering the break up permanent—didn’t look into why neither of them filed for divorce in the four years they’d spent dating other people and living on different continents.

“What?”

He snapped from his thoughts when Lukas spoke up, and offered the taller man a small smile. “Nothing,” he shrugged. “Just… Thinking of Oslo.”

Lukas frowned a little and took a step forward, shifting their son in his arms so he had a free hand to reach out towards Philip. “Come here,” the taller man said softly, beckoning insistently until Philip gave in and allowed his husband to tug him into a half-hug. “I know it’s painful still,” Lukas said softly, arm tightening around Philip as he slipped his own arm around Lukas’ waist and rested his other hand on their baby boy’s back. “But we got through it,” Lukas continues. “I know that we thought we’d already had the ‘for worse’ part of the vows back when we got married—”

Philip couldn’t suppress the soft snort that fell from his lips at that—because he really hadn’t thought it could get worse than a psychotic killer trying to kill them both while Lukas tried, with increasing desperation, to convince everyone and himself he wasn’t gay—but bit his lip and remained quiet when Lukas playfully glared at him.

“Sorry,” he grinned, patting his husband’s side in apology. “Please continue.”

Lukas rolled his eyes, but smiled anyway. “You’re a little shit, Philip Shea. I was just going to say that we made it. It sucked, and I missed you and though I love Oslo and everyone I met there, I _always_ knew that I’d eventually end up here, with you. I was never not in love with you. I guess we both just needed to know we could live without each other too. And I _can_ ,” he insisted, frowning a little. “I _can_ live without you. I just… I don’t want to.”

Philip wished he wasn’t sappy enough to fall for that, because he’d heard Lukas say all of it before, multiple times, but he still needed to remind himself that Lukas felt the same as he did sometimes.

“I know,” he sighed, resting his head against Lukas’ neck, happily breathing in his husband’s scent. “I know. I just… I hate to think about it sometimes. It’s not what I pictured when we ran away and got married.” He nearly purred when Lukas moved his hand up and threaded his fingers through Philip’s hair, leaning down to kiss the top of Philip’s head sweetly.

“I wasn’t even thinking beyond the next day when we got married,” Lukas admitted.

Philip nodded against Lukas’ shoulder, before chancing a peek at their sleeping baby. “We should put him down for a bit and make sure we got everything packed,” he said softly, leaning up to press a kiss to Lukas’s jaw before pulling from his embrace. “Helen and Gabe are expecting us for dinner and we still have to wake up Emma and get her ready too.”

“Yeah,” Lukas sighed tightening his grip on the baby marginally. “In a minute.”

Philip watched, with was undoubtedly a sappy grin on his lips, as his husband kisses the baby’s head again, slowly moving towards their bedroom, where the crib is still set up.

Yeah.

They struggled and they broke up, but they did make it.

He couldn’t wait to show everyone who’d laughed at him and bullied in high school that not only had he made it, but he’d thrived. He had a husband and two gorgeous children and his career was progressing excellently.

He made it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only the reunion after this!   
> Thanks for the R&R, darlings! 
> 
> Love, Annaelle

**That evening—Tivoli, New York—Caldwell Farm**

“Where’s my grandbabies?”

Philip chuckled as Gabe rushed over to the car, where Lukas was still unbuckling the baby and an excited Emma. Gabe had always been the more excitable grandparent—that was, of course, not to say that Helen didn’t love her grandchildren just as much.

She just seemed to be slightly more capable of curbing her excitement.

She, at least, waited until they’d actually gotten inside the house before stealing either Emma or baby Thomas from Philip’s arms and cooing over them for the rest of the time. “Hey Philip,” Helen grinned as she followed her husband, at a far more sedate pace, taking one of the bags from him when she reached him before leaning in for a short hug. “How’re you guys doing?”

Philip smiled back and leaned into her hug for a moment before leaning back. “We’re good. Thanks again for watching them for us. Lukas is really excited about the reunion.”

As if on cue, Lukas cried out playfully, and Helen and Philip turned to find him and Gabe chasing Emma in circles around the car, the baby giggling hysterically in Gabe’s arms and waving his little arms around uncoordinatedly.

Helen smirked and patted Philip’s shoulder. “I can tell. He’s got more energy than the kids.”

Philip snorted and shook his head, digging his hands into his pockets as he watched his husband behave like the four-year-old he sometimes was. “It’s a sugar high, I swear. We stopped for a snack and when we got back to the car, he and Emma collected like fifty sugar packets. We were only in there for five minutes, _tops_!”

Helen snorted a laugh and shook her head, dipping into a crouch when Emma came running towards them at full speed, colliding first with Philip’s legs as she squealed, “Daddy-Philip, save me!” before pushing past him into Helen’s waiting embrace.

Philip just grinned and raised his eyebrow at his husband, who came running towards him too, smile wide and bright with his hair soft and floppy the way it had been when they’d first met.

And Philip just loved him _so_ _much_.

“Hey there,” Lukas grinned, slipping his arms around Philip before the other man could say anything, pressing close to him as Philip wrapped his arms around Lukas’ shoulders. “Fancy meeting you here.”

“You,” Philip snorted, shaking his head at his husband’s behaviour. “You’re such a child sometimes.”

Lukas smiled, bright and happy and leaned in, nudging his nose against Philip’s playfully. “Yeah, but you love me anyway.”

“Oh, do I?” Philip pulled back a little and raised an eyebrow at Lukas. “No one told _me_ about that.”

Lukas gasped in mock-offence and moved his left hand up to wiggle his ring finger at Philip. “Well, you’re stuck with me anyway, baby. You said forever—I took that literally.”

Philip sighed dramatically, but leaned into Lukas’ embrace anyway. “Well, if I’m stuck with you,” he lamented, “I might as well enjoy it.” Lukas nodded eagerly and grinned against his lips when Philip leaned in to kiss him, slipping his hands into Philip’s back pockets as he did.

When they broke apart, Helen was looking at them, a small smile on her lips, with Emma on her hip.

“They _always_ do kisses,” Emma tells her grandmother seriously. “They got lotsa cooties now.”

Helen laughed, and Philip and Lukas broke apart sheepishly, as Gabe joined them with little Thomas in his arms. Lukas smirked and moved forward, stretching out his hands towards Emma playfully. “Cooties? Really, Emma? Come here then, I’ll give you a few kisses too. Come give papa a few kisses.”

“Noooooo,” Emma wailed dramatically, wriggling against Helen until the older woman set her down and taking off as fast as her little legs could carry her. Lukas chased her in a deliberately slower pace, letting her think she was escaping for a short moment before he caught her, snagging her up around her waist as he planted kisses all over her face while she protested loudly.

Philip, Helen and Gabe watched them with fond smiles before Helen turned to Philip and said, “She looks more and more like Anne every time I see her.”

Something constricted painfully in Philip’s chest, and his eyes watered at the mention of his mother. “Yeah,” he rasped, eyes straying to where Lukas and Emma were playing. “She does.” Emma’s curls were tight and voluminous, much like their mother’s, and she and Philip both shared the deep, dark chocolate eye colour they’d inherited from Anne.

“Philip, I’m sorry,” Helen backtracked when she realized how much the observation had upset Philip. “I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s fine,” Philip shook his head, offering her a tight smile. “It just… It hurts to think about sometimes.”

It did still hurt to think about his mother, and how all of her efforts to become and remain clean for him—and later, Emma—had eventually been for naught. A lifetime worth of struggles had been rewarded with peace and happiness, and for six years, his mom had stayed away from drugs and held down a steady job and boyfriend.

They’d all been happy.

Until that happiness had been shattered by a drunk driver jumping the curb, mowing down Anne and Marc—Emma’s father—while they’d been getting Chinese take-out. Philip had been at home, babysitting two-month-old Emma. It had been the first time since Emma’s birth that Anne had let Philip babysit her for longer than ten minutes while she napped.

He hated to think, even now, that it had been the last too.

Philip had struggled with the idea of becoming a big brother at age twenty-three, struggled with the idea of having to _share_ his mother, even though he _wanted_ her to be happy and healthy and have everything she’d ever wanted out of life—

But that struggle had been nothing compared what he’d struggled through when he had suddenly found himself legal guardian of his baby sister, while he had barely graduated college—when he barely had any clue how to look after himself as a normal, responsible adult. He had no _clue_ how to look after a baby too, when he didn’t even have a steady job.

His boyfriend at the time—who barely deserved that title, honestly, they’d mostly spent their time together screwing each other’s brains out—had quickly decided he had no interest in a relationship with someone who was grieving and taking care of a baby and bailed on him.

Philip hadn’t been too broken up about it.

He hadn’t really had an interest in a real, steady relationship since he kissed Lukas goodbye at the airport and watched him fly out of Philip’s life.

He’d _tried_ , for Emma, to be better, and to find a good, steady job. The thing about having a major in art and photography was that it was not the easiest field to find a steady job in. It had, all in all, only taken him two weeks before he caved and called Helen and Gabe, begging them for help, which they’d gladly given him.

Gabe had stayed with him, in his shitty little apartment, for nearly a month while he and Philip redid the entire interior to make it baby proof and safer, for both Philip and Emma.

Helen had helped him look for a job—which had turned out to be a boring office job, with an excellent insurance plan and nine to five hours so he’d be home in a timely fashion to take care of Emma. And so, he and Emma had settled into a routine, and Philip had learned how to be content with his life.

Until Lukas came back and popped the little bubble of peacefulness that he’d created.

It had taken them weeks of arguing and dredging up old hurt feelings before they’d admitted to themselves and each other that their feelings for one another hadn’t actually disappeared or gone away—and that they owed it to themselves to give their relationship another shot.

They’d renewed their vows—properly, this time—a year and a half later.

This time, Helen and Gabe had been there, and even Bo had attended, awkward and unsure of how to talk to his estranged son and son-in-law, but absolutely enamoured with little Emma.

While Lukas’ dad still struggled with knowing his son was gay, married to another man—worse, even, married to the boy Bo had _detested_ in high school—with two children, Philip couldn’t deny that he _tried_. He _loved_ Emma and their baby boy so obviously and so deeply, neither man had any problems letting him watch the kids when they wanted a date night or had a party, like the reunion tonight.

He snapped from his thoughts when Lukas popped up behind him, slipping his arms around Philip’s waist as he hooked his chin over Philip’s shoulder.

Emma had attached herself to Gabe’s leg and was animatedly describing the drawing she’d made in kindergarten, depicting her little family. Philip remembered the drawing in question—he’d hung it on their fridge just yesterday—and remembered how it had almost made him cry. She’d drawn him and Lukas and a tiny stick figure he knew represented Thomas and herself, and up in the corner, on a cloud next to the sun, she had drawn two stick figures and explained that those were Momma and Papi, watching them from their cloud in heaven.

While she had taken to calling him and Lukas daddy and papa, Philip liked to make sure she knew that her real mom and dad had loved her very much too.

He barely listened to Helen and Gabe as they suggested heading inside, laughing as Emma yelled excitedly and toddled across the lawn towards the porch, Helen only a few steps behind her, with Gabe and baby Thomas on her heels.

“You okay?”

Philip hummed a little in response to Lukas’ soft query and leaned back into his husband’s arms. “Being here, with the reunion… It’s just bringing back a lot of memories.”

Lukas pressed his lips to the back of Philip’s head, tightening his arms around Philip’s waist a  little. “I know, it feels a little weird. It’ll be cool to see everyone again though.” They swayed in place for a moment longer, and Philip wondered how their night would go.

“Do you think they’ll be weird about us?” He finally asked, resting his hand atop Lukas’.

“Nah,” Lukas replied confidently, slotting their fingers together easily. “It’s old news by this point. We’re going to be fine. It’ll be fun catching up with Rose and the guys, and we’ll get to see how everyone else turned out. It’s going to be fun.”

Philip really hoped he was right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case that was unclear--yes, Emma is Philip biological little sister. Anne had her with a new boyfriend before she and said boyfriend were killed in an accident with a drunk driver. 
> 
> Emma is four. Baby Thomas is about six months old and the newest addition to the family.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, in the spirit of knowing this took way too long already, I decided to split that final part in two as well. Hopefully I'll have more time to get the last one out soon :D 
> 
> Thanks for all the love, guys!
> 
> Love, Annaelle
> 
> PS Unbeta'd, so all mistakes are mine, I apologize :D

**Several hours later—Tivoli, New York—Red Hook High School**

Rose beamed at Katie, who was cheerily greeting their former classmates and handing out their name tags. The gym was filling up nicely, and everyone seemed to be having fun, talking and mingling with their peers and their significant others. She was relieved to see everything seemed to be running smoothly, and it had been fun to catch up with the people that had shown up so far.

She could see Erik at the bar with Claire and a few of the others, laughing heartily at some silly joke that someone had told, and little clusters of people dotted across the room, chatting and catching up.

The baby kicked as she slowly made her way around the room, occasionally making small talk with old friends that she hadn’t seen in a long time. So far, there hadn’t been any true surprises—though she had been a little stunned to hear that Susannah Holtz had brought a girlfriend rather than the boyfriend she’d spoken of when she’d confirmed that she’d be attending the reunion—but she hadn’t truly expected any either.

She really just wanted to enjoy her night with old friends.

Katie grinned at her when she joined her at the table, immediately nudging her towards the chair at Katie’s left hand. “How many people are we still expecting?” Rose asked as she lowered herself into the seat gingerly, rubbing her hand over her belly to quiet the baby.

“Uh,” Katie hummed thoughtfully as she counted the nametags she had left in her little pile. “Connor Ness, Daniela and Kensi Blye and Philip Shea and his husband.” Katie’s eyebrows furrowed a little as she read the last two tags, before looking up at Rose. “He didn’t mention the husband’s name to you, did he? There wasn’t anything in the file you sent me, but—”

Rose’s lips parted, the words “yes, of course,” already halfway out of her mouth before she realized that she _didn’t_ have a clue what Philip’s husband was called.

He hadn’t said and she hadn’t asked.

“No,” she drawled, wrinkling her nose in annoyance at herself. “Huh. I should have asked.”

Katie glared at the blank tag for a moment longer before she shrugged and tapped a manicured fingernail on the black sharpie. “We’ll just write down his name when they get here then.”

Rose nodded and leaned back in her seat, eyes drifting over the groups of people that had filled up the gym. “Everyone’s having fun,” she observed happily, tilting her head to the side to smile at Katie. The other woman grinned and nodded, tossing her blonde curls over one shoulder as she turned towards Rose, leaning in close.

“Did you see chubby Susie brought a _girlfriend_ though?” Katie demanded gleefully, as though it was the funniest thing she had ever heard—and suddenly Rose remembered why they hadn’t hung out together all that much back in high school.

Katie had had a _terrible_ urge to gossip behind people’s back.

Rose was disappointed to see she hadn’t lost that urge. “Yes,” she sighed, “I saw. I talked to them for a bit earlier. They seem very happy together.” She glared at Katie and added, “I hope you’re not looking to spread ugly rumours about Susie again though.”

Katie looked at her, eyes wide and startled, before she stammered, “No, of course not. Just curious.”

Rose eyed her critically for a moment before nodding curtly and glancing around the room again. She exchanged a small smile with her husband when he looked her way and nodded gratefully when he gestured towards her empty cup. She was glad he understood she had no intention of getting up now that she had finally managed to get her butt down onto a semi-comfortable chair.

Being pregnant took a lot more out of her than she had anticipated when she had first gotten the news that she and Erik were expecting.

They’d been trying for a while, so, naturally, she had been far more excited to tell her husband the news than she had been about looking up some of her family’s medical history with pregnancy. Of course, now, six-and-a-half months into her pregnancy, she understood her mother’s warnings and insistence on taking things easy.

She perpetually had high blood pressure and she’d been forced to re-arrange her entire diet after she’d been diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Morning sickness had not tapered off after her first trimester, and it had never been restricted to _mornings_ either.

She was just pleased she hadn’t been too nauseous or sore today.

She and Katie fell into easy banter once Erik dropped off a fresh cup of water, a kiss pressed to the side of her head before he returned to the group of people he’d been talking to. Connor, Kensi and Daniela trickled in one by one and Rose greeted all of them enthusiastically, listening eagerly to how their lives had turned out after high school.

It had been entertaining to catch up with old friends, and she barely even thought about Philip Shea until the man in question suddenly stood in front of her and Katie, looking slightly breathless and distinctly ruffled as he grinned at the two of them.

“Hey!” He exclaimed excitedly, “I’m so sorry we’re late, the kids wouldn’t settle, and then the car wouldn’t start and we had to borrow Helen’s truck—” He cut himself off and shook his head before she could say anything, waving his hand around dismissively. “Whatever, we’re here. Delayed, but here.” He offered her a wide, gorgeous smile, and she wondered briefly _why_ she’d dismissed him as weird and unimportant back in school, before realizing—with no small amount of shame—that she’d only done so because Lukas had decided he didn’t like him.

“It’s okay,” Katie replied when Rose didn’t say anything, pulling the last two name tags from the little box. “Are your kids okay?”

Philip frowned as he took his name tag, pinning it to his shirt carefully before he answered. “Yeah, they’re fine. Tommy’s just not really comfortable without us yet—I mean, it’s the first time we’ve left him with Helen and Gabe’s for the night, so…” He grinned sheepishly and shrugged. “I guess _we_ weren’t really prepared for that yet either. I mean, with Emma it was difficult too, I just figured it’d be easier this time since I’d done it before.”

Katie chuckled and Rose smiled at the positively dopey grin on Philip’s face.

“Something to look forward to, I guess,” she laughed, rubbing her hand over her belly. Philip’s eyes drifted down to her swollen belly too before he nodded.

“Definitely,” he said, pushing his hands into his pockets. “Not for a while though. When are you due?”

“September third,” she replied quietly, returning Philip’s smile shyly.

Philip nodded and glanced over his shoulder, frowning briefly, before replying, “Congratulations. I’m sure you’re going to be an amazing mother.”

Rose felt a blush heat up her cheeks and she fumbled for a reply before Katie saved her from having to find one and said, “So, Philip, where’s that wayward husband of yours? Didn’t he come in with you?” Rose frowned at the observation and looked around too, finding herself slightly confused when she didn’t see anyone in the gym that she hadn’t already seen.

“Oh, no,” Philip shrugged and looked over his shoulder. “He stopped for a second to take a phone call for work, but he’ll be here in a second.” Rose noted his exasperation at the words, and she wondered just how often Philip’s husband had ‘stopped to take a phone call for work’ before.

Katie wrinkled her nose and griped, “Who takes a work call at eight PM on a Saturday?”

Rose winced as Philip straightened and crossed his arms over his chest, frowning disapprovingly at Katie. “My husband does,” he replied frostily. “That’s what happens when you have employees and partners who live and work in different time zones. He’s not exactly ecstatic about it either, but work’s work.”

 “Of course,” Rose intervened, shooting Katie an unimpressed glare. “What does he do? Oh!” Before Philip could answer, or do more than stare at her in bemusement, she snatched the blank name tag from the box and grabbed the Sharpie. “What’s his name? You didn’t say when you confirmed you’d be attending, and I forgot to ask when we spoke later on.”

“You don’t _know?”_

She looked up at him, unsure what to make of his exclamation, but before either of them could say anything else, there was somewhat of a commotion at the entrance of the gym, and Philip turned, sighing in exasperation as he did. “There he is. Can’t even walk in without causing a riot, _honestly_.”

Rose stood as Philip turned towards the group of people approaching them, surprised by the loud, excited chatter that now permeated the entire gym.

She watched in astonishment as the crowd parted when Philip approached, her jaw dropping when she recognised the man with the bleached blonde hair and sheepish smile that readily accepted Philip’s embrace when the shorter man thumped his shoulder before throwing his arms around him.

“Lukas?!”


	5. Chapter 5

Lukas Shea-Waldenbeck was many things. Stubborn, somewhat of a slob, a devoted father, hopelessly in love with his husband and, obviously, a bit of a fool too.

He’d never even stopped to consider the idea that people at the reunion would be overly excited or surprised to see him again. His departure from Tivoli, close to a decade ago now, had been rather rushed and unplanned, and he hadn’t really bothered to contact his friends when he and Philip had settled in their tiny, shitty apartment either.

He wasn’t sure why he assumed it wouldn’t be a big deal to show up to the reunion.

After his father had attended the renewal of their vows and had revealed he was coming to terms with Lukas’ relationship with Philip, he really hadn’t stopped to think about how infrequent his visits back to Tivoli had been even before he’d taken the scholarship and moved to Oslo for close to three years.

It had never even occurred to him that his father would _not_ have told people about why Lukas left.

“Uh,” he said ineloquently when Philip pulled away from his rather sudden embrace, revealing his— _very_ pregnant—ex-girlfriend standing behind his husband with something akin to complete astonishment and surprise on her face. “Hi?”

Rose glared at him, and Philip gently nudged his elbow, nodding towards Rose when Lukas glanced at him. “Go on,” he said quietly, lightly shoving at Lukas’ side. “Go hug her, you dork.”

He flushed, cheeks burning with embarrassment as he stepped forward and gingerly drew Rose into a hug. “It’s good to see you again,” he said quietly, so only she could hear. She was still so much shorter than him it felt a little awkward to bend down to hug her, and since they hadn’t exactly parted on good terms, he wasn’t entirely sure what to say to her.

For some inane reason, seeing his ex-girlfriend again at the reunion hadn’t even occurred to him, so he felt utterly and woefully unprepared.

“Yeah,” Rose muttered awkwardly as she withdrew from his embrace. “Yeah, good, just… _surprising_.”

“I guess,” he shrugged, even as the crowd that had formed around them dispersed, leaving him and Rose at the edge of the dancefloor with Philip and a tall, handsome man who Lukas presumed to be Rose’s significant other.

They stood in silence for a long, terribly awkward moment before Philip loudly cleared his throat, stepped forward to snatch something from the table behind Rose and scribbled something down before turning and slapping the unidentified object—a nametag, he realized with sudden clarity—onto Lukas’ chest, after which he turned to the other man.

“This is awkward,” Philip said radiantly, offering the other man his hand. “I’m Philip, this is my husband Lukas, and I assume you’re Rose’s husband?”

Lukas grinned as the man’s jaw sagged a little—Philip usually had that impression on people—before he took Philip’s hand and shook it firmly. “Erik,” he replied with a small smile. “it’s nice to meet you.” He glanced around their little group, and Lukas could almost _see_ the unspoken communication between him and Rose when their eyes met.

It made him smile, and he instinctively turned to look at his own husband.

Philip’s eyes crinkled around the edges as he smiled at Lukas, and he felt the nervous knot in his stomach ease a little. Seeing Rose again had thrown him, and he wasn’t sure how to deal with the onslaught of memories that seeing her had evoked.

“I think,” Philip said slowly, not taking his eyes off of Lukas’ yet. “These two need a moment to catch up. Erik, why don’t you show me to the bar so they can have a little chat?”

He completely missed Erik’s reply, but it must have been positive, because suddenly Philip tiptoed to kiss his cheek before leaving him with Rose, who was looking at him with an inscrutable expression. “So…” He drawled, mentally chastising himself for being so _terrible_ at conversing. “Should we sit?”

He didn’t know how far along Rose was, but he remembered how their friend and surrogate mother Ava had been after her sixth month of pregnancy with Tommy. Standing for prolonged periods of time had quickly become uncomfortable, and she had a tendency to try to balance herself out by having a hand on her back and her belly at all times, much like Rose did right now.

“Yeah,” Rose nodded slowly, “that’d be good, thank you.”

He followed her to a small table off to the side of the dancefloor, but with a clear view of the bar, where their respective husbands were now chatting amiably, as though they’d been friends for years.

“How far along ar—”

“You’re _gay_?!”

Lukas winced at the indignant exclamation, his own question lost in the heat of Rose’s annoyance.

Just as soon as his embarrassment rose though, so did his own anger and annoyance, because he and Rose had been over for well over a _decade_. Yes, he had been terrible to her and Philip back then, and maybe he should have told her he broke up with her because he cheated on her and he was gay, but she had _no_ right to judge him after the way she behaved in the hospital when he’d been shot.

He’d not forgotten that it was Rose that had insisted Philip be kept away from him while he was in a coma, allowing Kane the chance to get to him to try and kill him too.

Of course, he’d blamed his father for that too, but that was a whole other can of worms.

“Yeah,” he replied coldly, leaning back a little as he frowned. “Is that a problem?”

Rose’s expression blanched for a moment before she seemed to realize how her question had sounded. “Oh, no, no, Lukas, I’m not—I was just surprised. I had no idea.”

Lukas deflated just as quickly and shook his head, tugging his fingers through his hair. “No, it’s fine. I’m sorry. I get fired up about it still. My dad—” He broke off and shook his head again. “He didn’t take it well. It’s why we left Tivoli so abruptly and haven’t been back much since.”

He could see the surprise on Rose’s face, but also dawning understanding, and he felt the anxious knot in the pit of his stomach loosen further. “So you left because your dad kicked you out when you told him you were gay?” She asked carefully, as if she were trying to piece everything she’d learned so far together—knowing her, she probably was.

“Well,” Lukas shrugged, leaning back into his chair casually. “That and he really didn’t approve of Philip, and I had no intention of leaving him after everything we’d been through.”

His gaze flicked back over to the bar, and when he looked back at Rose, he saw she’d been looking at Philip and Erik too. “When did that happen?” She asked, raising an eyebrow at him. “You and Philip? I thought you couldn’t stand him.”

He winced, and he could tell that as she said the words, understanding dawned on her too. “Because that’s what you wanted me to think, right?”

Lukas wrinkled his nose and nodded. “I was messed up. I didn’t—I was _so_ scared of people knowing… I did some really shitty things… To you _and_ to him.” He looked up and smiled tightly, reaching out to touch Rose’s hand gently. “Which I am sorry for. I was a shitty boyfriend and a shitty person and I should have been honest with you. I’m sorry for how I treated you back then. You deserved better.”

Rose was silent for a long time, and he shifted uncomfortably.

While he was glad to have gotten the chance to apologize to her, as he should have done years ago, he’d forgotten to factor in how awkward the wait for denial or forgiveness could be.

“It’s okay,” Rose finally said. “No, I mean.. It’s not okay you treated me—or him—like that, but I’m over it. Been over it for a long time, and I’m assuming you and him have been for a while too. How long have you been married?”

Lukas blushed and grinned, glancing down towards the simple silver wedding band on his finger. “Our anniversary is next week, actually. Officially been married for ten years, but…” He hesitates, because he remembered his years in Oslo with both fondness and sadness, because he had learned _so much_ in those years, both personally and academically, but he had _never_ forgotten about Philip and his feelings for the other man hadn’t wavered once.

“We separated for a while,” he finally replied, “I spent a couple of years abroad, and we decided not to try long-distance, though we never officially got divorced either. When I got back, we eventually decided to give it another try. We renewed our vows two years ago—even dad attended this time.”

 Rose smiled gently, and patted his hand. “But you made it. You must’ve gotten married right out of high school though, for you two to have officially been married for ten years.”

Lukas grinned sheepishly and nodded. “Well, it was… My dad wanted to send me to one of those conversion camps, separate me from Philip… We decided to get married so he couldn’t. And then we moved back to New York when Anne got out of rehab, finished high school, got jobs… Life just happened.”

Rose chuckled and folded her hands over her belly. “Yeah, that sounds right.”

“What about you?” He asked, nodding towards where Philip and Erik are laughing. “He seems nice.”

She grinned and glanced towards them too before she responded. “He is. He’s great. The story’s not nearly as interesting as yours though. We met in college, dated off and on, decided to give things a real shot when we graduated… And that was that. We moved back here a few months ago.”

“That’s great,” Lukas enthused, feeling decidedly less awkward than he had moments ago.

“Philip mentioned you two have kids,” Rose leaned forward a little. “Boy and girl?”

Lukas nodded eagerly, because if there was something he could do, it was talk about their kids incessantly—as, he supposed, all parents did. “Yeah, our boy, Tommy, he’s six months old, and then we have Emma, who is four.” He frowned and added, “Emma’s technically Philip’s little sister, but after his mom passed away he adopted her. I legally became her guardian when we renewed our vows.”

“And your son?” She asked delicately. “He’s yours?”

Lukas nodded. “Philip’s his biological father, and our friend Ava was a surrogate for us.” Eagerly, he pulled his phone from his pocket and scrolled through his pictures until he stumbled onto the family picture Gabe had taken earlier, when he and Philip had been curled up on the couch with Tommy and Emma before they left for the reunion.

Philip had Tommy cradled in his arms and he was looking at Lukas, who had Emma standing on his lap with one small hand curled in his hair for balance, with a tender smile that made Lukas’ heart clench and thank his lucky stars for being given a second—fifteenth—chance.

He handed his phone to Rose and smiled a little at the way she cooed at the image. That was the usual response he got to his family—his kids were pretty adorable, even if he did say so himself.

“He looks just like him,” Rose observed, trailing her finger across the screen with a soft smile. “Your children are beautiful, Lukas. You look very happy.”

“I am,” he nodded. “Well, _we_ are. It took us a while, but it was definitely worth it.”

Before Rose could say anything in response to that, Philip and Erik materialized beside their little table, drinks in hand. “You two doing alright here?” Erik asked lightly, slipping his hand across Rose’s back in a tender and intimate gesture.

“Lukas was just showing me pictures of their kids,” Rose grinned, tilting her head back to look at her husband and Philip slipped into the seat next to Lukas’, tangling their fingers together as he did.

“Again, Lukas?” He smirked up at the blond in amusement. “You like showing them off, don’t you?”

Lukas grinned back and tugged on Philip’s hand until he shifted closer, so he could press a kiss to his husband’s soft lips. “I like showing all of you off,” he admitted cheekily, momentarily forgetting about the presence of other people as he got lost in Philip’s warm gaze.

It wasn’t until Rose cleared her throat softly that he realized they _weren’t_ alone, and they were actually being a little rude too. “Sorry,” he coughed awkwardly, leaning back and turning back towards Rose, who was smirking knowingly. “Don’t worry about it,” she chuckled, downing the last of her drink before letting husband help her up. “We’ll just leave you two for a bit. I’m sure there’s plenty of other people you need to catch up with. We’ll just catch you later, okay?”

Lukas nodded mutely and watched as Erik and Rose walked— _waddled_ , in Rose’s case—away before he turned back to his own husband with a grin. “What was up with that?” Philip raised his eyebrow and tried to look innocent, but Lukas had known him for far too long to fall for that look. “With what?”

“ _That_ ,” Lukas insisted, waving his hand towards the seat Rose had just occupied. “The interrupting all of a sudden, grabbing my hand… Were you jealous?”

“Why should I be jealous?” Philip smirked at him and poked at his cheek playfully. “You think I’m a better kisser than her anyway.”

Lukas snorted and grinned, but didn’t say anything, because he _did_ , in fact, think his husband was a better kisser than Rose. “I do,” he finally said, leaning in to press a kiss to Philip’s lips, rubbing their noses together in a soft, tender gesture. “Hey Philip?”

“Yeah?”

Lukas smiled, slipping an arm around Philip to tug him closer. “You still make my stomach hurt.”

“Sap.”

“You love me.”

“I do.”

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so, before you start yelling at me--I wrote this before the final episode came out. Before episode nine came out, even, so I really just played with their characters a little. 
> 
> I love Rose, I think she's awesome, but I wouldn't have blamed her for losing her shit at the boy who she thought was stalking her ex-boyfriend and then was conveniently around when Lukas was shot. Philip and Lukas will show up in the next chapter, though I'm not sure when it'll be out! I have a few more ideas for Philkas oneshots and longer stories, but it'd be good to have a beta for it, so let me know if you're interested!
> 
> I'm Cuthian on Tumblr! Come talk to me about Stormpilot and Captain Swan and Reylo and Philkas and Evak and Sanvers xD 
> 
> Please leave a comment/kudos! I thrive on them :D 
> 
> Love, Annaelle


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